April Edition

Changes to Korean personal goods declarations

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The Korean Customs Service (KCS) has recently announced that a Personal Customs Clearance Code (PCCC) will be required instead of a Resident Registration Number (RRN) when making customs declarations in respect of shipments of personal goods to and from Korea. This new mandate is being introduced in accordance with the requirements of the Personal Information Protection Act which was ratified by the Korean government in 2011 in order to protect personal information.

We strongly advise all those involved in arranging any such shipments to carefully note the following in order to ensure the smooth and trouble-free clearance of personal goods through Korean customs. Failure to do so may result in customs delays and/or additional charges:

The RRN is a 13-digit number issued to all residents of Korea. It is similar to a national identification number and is used extensively for online identification purposes.

The PCCC comprises 12 digits starting with the alphabet letter P (e.g. P123123123123) and is issued by the KCS to those planning to ship personal goods into or out of Korea.

Korean citizens can generate a PCCC almost instantaneously via the designated website (https://p.customs.go.kr) – NB this is in the Korean language only - by quoting details of his/her Accredited Certificate. Alternatively they can obtain a PCCC within one to two business days by sending an email or fax to the main Customs Office of the Administrative District listed on the designated website.

Non-Koreans are permitted to quote their passport number in order to facilitate the clearance of their goods.